Chinese food will be available on students' meal plans beginning Monday, when Rose's restaurant on Boston Ave. formally joins the Merchants on Points (MOPS) program. The restaurant will join MOPS, run by Dining Services, Monday evening at 7 pm, Dining Services Director Patti Lee Klos confirmed Wednesday.
Students have been eagerly awaiting a fourth vendor after Urban Gourmet left the MOPS program early last semester, and wait lines for the other three have lasted as long as three hours on particularly egregious occasions. Equipment that allows Rose's to accept Tufts Dining Points was installed Wednesday and will be ready for use Monday.
After hardware problems with the computer supplier, Blackboard Inc., caused months worth of delays, the system is ready to go. Klos said she is glad the process of signing a fourth vendor, which has taken almost a semester and a half, is over. "I am relieved," she said. "It's long overdue and my hope is that it will be very successful."
In October, Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services committee and Dining Services polled 857 students on their favorite of six local restaurants. Rose's, which received 289 votes, was the top choice.
Dining services approached Rose's about joining the program, and though the restaurant was interested, students were concerned the restaurant must close at 11 p.m. due to Medford zoning restrictions.
Dining services tried to sign the second-choice vendor, Golden Light in Davis Square, but communication difficulties with the restaurant over the winter break forced Klos to set her sights back on Rose's.
Blackboard Inc. spokesman Michael Stanton said the problem of adding hardware for Rose's to join the MOPS program was due to an oversight by the company. When Klos ordered hardware for Rose's, the company was in the process of reformatting for the use of both new hardware and software. At first, the new hardware was shipped, but the software Dining Services needed was not yet ready.
"The delay occurred in conjunction with the Hewlett-Packard hardware and our new software," Stanton said. "When we got the new terminal we needed to test it. Apparently it got shipped without getting tested for quality assurance."
Blackboard then moved Tufts' request up in the service call, and sent out a slightly older model for free installation. Stanton said the company is continuing to test the new Hewlett-Packard terminal, but did not want to continue the delay for Tufts.
"Rather than making Tufts continue to wait, we sent out an existing, working model for you to install, so students and faculty can go ahead and use it," Stanton said.
The last step in the process is training the Rose's staff. Though the restaurant may have difficulty adjusting to the initial increase in volume, Klos said she expects that Rose's will acclimate itself quickly. "The equipment is here, and it works. He's training his staff, and he will be prepared to start on Monday," Klos said of the eatery's owner.
TCU Senators Josh Belkin and Ed Schwem, who worked on the Student Services committee with Klos, are glad that the process is over. "I'm glad the technology finally came together to bring lo-mein to your door on points," Belkin said. "It's a victory for the students."
Schwem said he hopes the addition of Rose's will decrease the wait lines for the other vendors. "Now people will have the Chinese food they so want and additionally, the wait lines for the other three restaurants will be decreased."
Rose's joins Near East Caf?©, Wing Works and Espresso's Pizza as the MOPS vendors.
